Everyone seems to love this! Whether they are reviewing the series or just this first volume is sometimes unclear, but with this first installation IEveryone seems to love this! Whether they are reviewing the series or just this first volume is sometimes unclear, but with this first installation I was mostly disappointed. It's one of those comics series that you hear about here and there, so I decided to give it a go. And to me it mainly seemed crude just for the hell of it, and with characters that you're not supposed to care about or relate with. Spider is supposedly meant to be a moral character, and yet when the story starts it is made abundantly clear that he isn't - he'd signed a contract, taken the money and ran. He blows up a bar, for no discernible reason. He then leaves his car in the middle of a traffic jam and wanders over everyone elses. It also appears later on that he still has his car.

It just seems to me that this could have all been thought out a bit better. The writing seemed to be rushed, and, while the artwork is good, it rarely stays constant. I shall try the second book in case there's something I'm clearly missing, but as a start to a series 'Back on the Street' leaves something to be desired......more

Sad to say this is a terrible book. It gets two stars instead of one merely for being based on a great idea, and that is in no thanks to its author.

ThSad to say this is a terrible book. It gets two stars instead of one merely for being based on a great idea, and that is in no thanks to its author.

This book, basically, didn't have to be written. The Hitchhikers series was Douglas Adams', and Douglas Adams' alone. If someone had to finish it off then it should have been someone who would give it the love it deserved. Jasper Fforde springs to mind, as does Grant Morrison, although that may have been a bit too weird.

The guide notes here are terrible. The basic ideas are okay, but every new invention being called a 'something-o-something' shows a real lack of imagination on Eoin's part.

The characters are pretty much entirely wasted, with the exception of Zaphod. Wowbagger and Trillian is a ludicrous idea that sprang from nowhere and doesn't sit right at all.

And to cap it all off it makes a big thing about how "stories never end, they're just a middle" which pretty much makes the book a complete waste of time as it just underlines the needlessness of itself.

I wish this had been better, but in reality, I've never missed Douglas more....more

Unfortunately the most fun you'll get out of this book is reading speech bubbles in the characters' voices (particularly Taggart's)Yeah, not so good.

Unfortunately the most fun you'll get out of this book is reading speech bubbles in the characters' voices (particularly Taggart's) as there's really not much to enjoy here.

The story is uninspiring and borrows from other science-fiction (Terminator; Futurama) without ever really going anywhere interesting. You get a glimpse of a Jo backstory, but nothing really interesting or revealing.

The art is sub-standard, and (covers aside) the characters don't even look all that much like their real life counterpart.

None of the cast are at all put forward as being a genius, and, in fact, the smartest thing about the book is that it includes a 10-page preview of the next volume which looks oh-so-much worse. This was a clever move because there's no way I can rate this as a one star book as there is clearly worse to come!

Well, I read this because Tarrantino name drops it as a sort of inspiration for his writing, and claims it is one of his favourite books - reinforcingWell, I read this because Tarrantino name drops it as a sort of inspiration for his writing, and claims it is one of his favourite books - reinforcing my thoughts that whilst the man's body of work is superb, his taste in others' is clearly dubious.

It all starts out well and draws you in quite nicely - the main protagonist is a writer just starting out, but with no particular goal, and various shared sentiments with the beat writers he so looks up to, but somewhere in the latter half of the book you can't help wondering why you're still reading it.

The character has become quite dislikable, and there aren't any others to really support him. They come and go in chapters of various length and it all seems rather meaningless.

And by the end it is all just a kind of jumble. He's still not sure what he wants to do, we get a handful more characters shoe-horned in for no rhyme or reason, and his last, supposedly significant action leaves you feeling pretty empty as it's not really a part of the story you cared for. And neither did he. THE PROTAGONIST. If he doesn't care by then, how are we supposed to?...more

I didn't get on well with this book personally. Perhaps it's because I come from said Small Island, and don't really need what is essential a travel bI didn't get on well with this book personally. Perhaps it's because I come from said Small Island, and don't really need what is essential a travel book to tell me all about it.

It certainly isn't the fault of Mr. Bryson's writing style as I've enjoyed other works of his. Just one of those things, I guess....more